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About the Stadium

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Stadium Quick Facts
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Homecoming Student Viewing Party

Stadium Quick Facts

TCF Bank Stadium is your new home for Big Ten Football! The process of building an on-campus stadium began in 2003 when the University of Minnesota began exploring their options for this new facility. Our dreams became a reality on January 23, 2007 when the Board of Regents approved the schematic design and budget for TCF Bank Stadium. In July 2007, construction officially began and our home is now complete. The stadium is not just a home for Golden Gopher Football and the University of Minnesota Marching Band; it is the home of college football tradition for all the residents of Minnesota.

State of Minnesota and University of Minnesota Support

In honor of the support provided by the State of Minnesota and its residents, the TCF Bank Stadium promenade is lined with 87 plaques representing the 87 counties of Minnesota. This stadium was also constructed with the support of the students of the University of Minnesota - "Hats Off to Thee!".

Veterans Tribute

The Veteran’s Tribute will honor all Minnesota veterans of past, present and future conflicts. The Tribute is located on the southwest corner of TCF Bank Stadium, between the main scoreboard and Gate E.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Certified Building

The University of Minnesota became the 1st LEED Certified Collegiate Football Facility. Read more on the decision.

Third-Largest Outdoor Scoreboard

The Videoboard in the East End Zone is the third-largest videoboard in all of college football. It was designed and built by Daktronics; the videoboard is 48 feet high by 108 feet wide (comparable to the size of the basketball court in Williams Arena) and includes Daktronics HD-16 light-emitting diode (LED) video display technology.

Gopher Football Home Suite

The Gopher Football Home Suite includes the coaches’ locker room, training room, equipment room, post-game interview room and recruiting room. The Suite will also include the new Gopher Football Locker Room which is 60 yards long and 25 yards wide in the shape of a football. It houses 120 custom-built, cherry wood lockers and an LED-lit block M on the ceiling with a mirror image on the floor.

DQ Club

TCF Bank Stadium’s Premium Seats include access to the luxurious DQ Club. The room serves as a central location for all Premium Seating patrons; making it an ideal place to meet clients, family and friends on game day. The DQ Club features 14 flat screen televisions, coat check, private bar and concessions, concierge service and much more!

University of Minnesota Band Suite

The Pride of Minnesota, the University of Minnesota Marching Band, will be housed in TCF Bank Stadium in a magnificent band room that includes storage, locker room facilities and practice areas. The band will use the football field at TCF Bank Stadium as their new practice area.

Minnesota Tribal Nations Plaza

Thanks to the generosity of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, the exterior plaza on the west end of the stadium is a dedication to all 11 of Minnesota’s Tribal Nations. This tribute, running from the native prairie scene on the south plaza along the 11 tribal sky markers to the water feature on the north end – will serve as a welcome and hospitality plaza on game days and non-game days for all who visit TCF Bank Stadium.

TCF Bank Stadium Timeline

May, 2006 - Minnesota legislature approves new on-campus football stadium.
June, 2007 - Gophers break ground on TCF Bank Stadium.
January, 2008 - First steel rises from the ground at stadium site.
April 7, 2008 - First brick is laid at the stadium site.
Fall, 2009 - Scoreboards and lighting installed. Exterior work completed.
May/June, 2009 - Playing surface installed.
July, 2009 - University takes occupancy of TCF Bank Stadium.
Sept. 12, 2009 - First game at TCF Bank Stadium.

TCF Bank Stadium Quick Facts

  • TCF Bank Stadium is the first Big Ten Stadium constructed since 1960.
  • TCF Bank Stadium was designed as an open-air, horseshoe-shaped bowl with a collegiate look and feel. The stadium is oriented to take advantage of the views of downtown Minneapolis.
  • The brick façade and arches resemble that of Minnesota’s previous on-campus football venue, Memorial Stadium, which hosted its final game on Nov. 21, 1981.
  • The overall cost to build TCF Bank Stadium is $288.5 million.
  • The University has exceeded its initial fund-raising goal of $86 million.
  • Construction began on TCF Bank Stadium on July 11, 2007. It took over 1.3 million work hours to complete the project by July 1, 2009.
  • The main high definition video measures approximately 48 feet high by 108 feet wide and boasts Daktronics HD-16 technology.
  • The main high definition video board is the third largest in all of college athletics in terms of square footage. Only Texas and Mississippi State have larger boards.
  • The main video board screen is made up of more than four million LED lights that if placed end to end would extend for 47.5 miles.
  • At the project’s peak, 750 construction workers were working on TCF Bank Stadium.
  • The site of TCF Bank Stadium covers 1,194,645 SF or approximately 27.4 acres.
  • The playing surface is FieldTurf and is covers 92,132 SF or approximately 2.1 acres.
  • The home locker room at TCF Bank Stadium is 60 yards long by 25 yards wide. It contains 120 cherry wood lockers and is the largest in both professional and college football.
  • TCF Bank Stadium has a capacity to accommodate 50,805 spectators.
  • The design of TCF Bank Stadium allows for potential expansion to 80,000 seats.
  • There are approximately 25,000 seats with permanent chairbacks. All seats between the goal lines have permanent chairbacks.
  • TCF Bank Stadium includes 1,000 accessible and companion seats. Accessible seating is located throughout the stadium, including in the first row of the first level, the last row of the first level and the last row of the second level.
  • The height of TCF Bank Stadium is 133 feet from the playing surface to the top of the roof of the press box.
  • There are 37 premium suites, 57 loge boxes, 259 seats in the indoor club and 1,250 seats in the outdoor club at TCF Bank Stadium.
  • TCF Bank Stadium has seven interior drops for local television that feed directly to the television truck bay.
  • There are 113 restrooms in TCF Bank Stadium, which include 625 toilets and 268 urinals.
  • TCF Bank Stadium has 10 network television camera positions and seating for 165 members of the media.
  • The “M” Club Room for former letterwinners is 4,000 square feet.
  • The Hall of Fame at TCF Bank Stadium is 5,200 square feet.
  • Populous (formerly HOK Sport) served as the primary architect for the building, while Mortensen Construction was the general contractor.
  • Over 95,000 linear feet of precast concrete stadia make up the structure below the seats.
  • In excess of 8,800 tons of structural steel was used in the project, with 97 percent being recycled steel.
  • TCF Bank Stadium contains 24,000 yards of cast-in-place concrete, which is enough concrete to pour a four-inch think by five-foot wide sidewalk from Minneapolis to Rochester, Minn. (74 miles).
  • The masonry includes 525,000 units of concrete block and 760,000 units of full and thin brick.
  • There is 72,753 SF or approximately 1.7 acres glass in TCF Bank Stadium, enough to cover more than 11 football fields.
  • TCF Bank Stadium has 844 doors.
  • There are a total of 9,185 Minnesota Block “M”s in TCF Bank Stadium.
  • TCF Bank Stadium has 12 elevators, two sets of escalators and 12 flights of stairs.
  • The foundation of TCF Bank Stadium is supported by 2,133 drilled piles, which is equivalent to 15.5 miles of piles.
  • There are 2,020,000 feet of cable in TCF Bank Stadium for telecom, broadcast, sound, fire alarm and security systems (382 miles)
  • TCF Bank Stadium has 2,210,000 feet of electrical wire/cable for power, the equivalent of 418 miles.
  • There is 900,000 square feet of finished space in TCF Bank Stadium.
  • TCF Bank Stadium contains 7,500 light fixtures.
  • The computer-controlled field lighting system at TCF Bank Stadium is comprised 268 1,500-watt fixtures. The entire field lighting system uses 420 kilowatts per hour when fully illuminated. There are three setting for the system: one for cleaning and maintenance of the stadium, a second for intramurals and band practices, and a third for Gopher football games.
  • TCF Bank Stadium has 350 LCD televisions.
  • The sound system at TCF Bank Stadium includes 799 speakers with an approximate maximum wattage of 329,400 watts.